Declan Drives On In Salt Lake City
by Howard Harding
29 July 2011 - English teenager Declan James continued his impressive run in the Squashworks Salt Lake City Open when he reached the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 event at Squashworks in Salt Lake City, USA.
The 18-year-old qualifier from Nottingham, who knocked out fourth seed Andrew McDougall in the first round, went on to defeat a further Canadian in the quarter-finals.
His 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 victory over Matthew Serediak, a 27-year-old from Toronto, takes James to a clash with Julian Illingworth.
Top seed Illingworth, the record seven-time US champion, leads home hopes in the championship - and despatched Canada's David Letourneau 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 to make the last four.
It was marathon day in the other half of the draw where it took more than three hours to decide the second semi-final line-up.
Third seed Christopher Gordon, the US number three from New York, battled for 90 minutes before losing to Mexican Erik Tepos Valtierra 11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9.
But second-seeded Canadian Shawn Delierre took 95 minutes to get the better of his opponent, also a Mexican.
In only four games, the 29-year-old from Montreal beat unseeded Avila, ranked almost 40 places lower in the world, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7.
PSA Challenger 10 Squashworks Salt Lake City Open, Salt Lake City, USA
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Julian Illingworth (USA) v [Q] Declan James (ENG)
[2] Shawn Delierre (CAN) v Erik Tepos Valtierra (MEX)
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